The families of all miners killed in a fatal blast
in north China's Hebei Province on Wednesday will each be
compensated at least 200,000 yuan (US$25,000), according to the
rescue operation headquarters yesterday.
The owners of Liuguantun Coal Mine, where the
explosion has claimed the lives of 74 miners and left 32 missing
underground, have allocated a total of 20 million yuan (US$2.5
million) for compensation.
The amount was fixed in accordance with a local
government regulation produced in March, but will be increased by
20,000 to 30,000 yuan depending on the circumstances of the
victims' families, the headquarters said.
The blast took place at around 3:15 PM two days ago
in the colliery in Kaiping District of Tangshan City, and is
thought to have been a gas explosion.
The mine's management said 82 of the 186 miners
working underground at the time escaped to safety shortly
afterward.
More than 100 rescuers continued searching for the
32 still trapped, but their efforts were hampered on Thursday as
the density of carbon monoxide in the shaft was 100 times above
safety standards, according to the headquarters.
The colliery was privatized in 2002.
(Xinhua News Agency December 9, 2005)